~ For people who are passionate about respecting the earth, walking in nature, observing wildlife, local diet, making do, repurposing, organic gardening, foraging for wild plants and fungi, natural health, scrumptious healthy cooking, renovations, DIY, crafting, raising children simply and mindfully, their dogs, taking time for stillness, and living in harmony with the seasons.

The carving comes so easily to me, perhaps because I approach it with such reverence. I invite the spirit of the totem animal to come into the wood, just as I invite the spirit of the ancient fire-killed cedar I use for the flute body to come into the world and share its music. ~Spring Shine

Not too long ago, I used to play a small cedar Native Flute. I had only been playing it for a few years when I misplaced it in the move out to the cabin. Since then I have really been missing it and was hoping to find another flute soon.

Then just a few months ago, I heard a Native flute played at a drumming circle and got the contact information of the artist who made the flute. It turns out that Canadian artist, Spring Shine, was just ‘next door’ in the Kooteneys, British Columbia. I ordered my new Native flute and a month later (last week) it arrived in the mail!

Spring Shine of Cedar Spirit Flutes makes handcrafted, one-of-a-kind Native flutes in the tradition of the Plains Indian “Love Flutes”. Your flute is completely your own as you choose the scale (or tone) of your flute as well as your own unique totem, which Spring hand carves. No two totems are alike and they can be custom-carved to an image of your choice. For example, I wanted my flute to be a ‘woman’s flute’- to be played specifically for Mother Earth in honor and gratitude for her abundance in providing everything I need to survive. So I specifically chose an image of the Venus of Willendorf (discovered while studying art history) as for me she was a powerful representation of the nurturing, abundant image of ‘Earth Mother’.

I emailed this picture (above) to Spring and he carved it for me as my personal totem on my flute. Click here to see some of the other totems he has carved. He also makes beautiful carvings in soapstone.

The flutes are made from ancient cedar trees that have died naturally by fire and are gathered from the land that Spring lives on. They are hand-finished with organic linseed oil and beeswax.

Spring makes a variety of flutes, including a double flute, where one body plays a drone and the other plays the melody.

The flutes are shipped in a thick plastic tube, which acts as a carrying case when you slip the tube into the attached canvas backpack. There is also a smaller canvas bag, which holds the flute.

I am now ready to sit with this beautiful new flute. I am ready to learn her unique voice and character and together make the earthy windy music that I love so much.

The sound of my flute carries through the forest like a dream. ~Cedar Spirit customer Ressa Cook